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Welcoming Families Around the World


     "While families are a critical piece in shaping children's values on such matters, classroom practices communicate and reinforce strong, subtle, and repeated social messages about what is and is not valued" (Hyland, 2010). Imagine with me. You are a teacher, and you hear a family from Mexico immigrated to your city, and their child will be joining your classroom. You know nothing about the student's country or culture. How do you prepare? How do you anticipate those preparations will affect the family?

     "Whereas professional organizations recognize the centrality of diversity in school curricula and instructional practices and most educators conceptually agree, little of this information and ideology is translated into classrooms" (Boutte, 2008). Oftentimes on a macro level, schools and admin can state that diversity is important, but without guidelines or strategies, teachers can feel lost or unsupported as they strive to have a more inclusive classroom. Being a teacher, and having students immigrate and attend my class is something I have experienced, so I will share what worked for me.

    First, I research information about the country my student is coming from. I will probably even watch a video or two providing more information about the country and what is happening within it. Next, I look through the Lakeshore posters we have at my workplace. We have a box of posters featuring diverse people. I can use this to put all types of diverse individuals on my walls, so the students know that everyone is welcome. Thirdly, I can learn phrases and sentences in their native language if it is not already a language I know. This can help the child understand the routine, and can encourage classmates to try and communicate with the new peer. The next method would be to incorporate their culture into the classroom. Whether that is by having clothes or items from the new student's country available for the students to explore, or integrating it into the lesson. Lastly, I would review NAEYC's guidelines on cultural competency to ensure my classroom adequately serves kids of all cultures and backgrounds. I like utilizing NAEYC since the preschool I work at is accredited by them, and I also see that they have a very thorough plan for cultural competency.

    By doing utilizing these methods, I hope to create a safe, encouraging, and enjoyable learning environment for my students. There are so many changes that come with immigration, and a calming environment where they feel valued can mean the world to the child(ren) that experienced so much change all at once. Given the current events, I find it even more important to create kind and peaceful environments for children to learn. 

Picture taken by me, at the PedEast San Ysidro Border Crossing.

Reference:
Hyland, N.E. (2010). Social justice in early childhood classrooms: What the research tells us. YC:
    Young Children, 65(3), 88-94.

Boutte, G. (2008). Beyond the illusion of diversity: How early childhood teachers can promote social
    justice. Social Studies, 99(4), 165-173.

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